Tyler, TX - gwrra tx

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Host Hotel Holiday Inn South Broadway
GWRRA Rate $89 + Tax (Buffet Breakfast Included)
5701 South Broadway Ave
Tyler TX 75703
Phone (903)- 561-5800
Camping is available in the area. Please
contact the District Director (David
Vidrine) Email [email protected] for
a list of available camping areas.
Harvey
Convention
Center
Holiday
Inn
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Thursday 8th
Opening Ceremonies
The opening Ceremonies will
be held at the Historic
Aviation Memorial Museum.
Take off will be 4 pm. As
indicated on the map to the
left the Museum and Airport is
on the west side of Tyler.
Don't forget to bring your
chapter air plane. Flight
contest and judging will be
held at the Museum.
Things to see and do around Tyler TX
The following are things of interest in and around the town of Tyler. The Texas District has researched
and found this the below items in an effort to make your District Convention more interesting. While in
Tyler stop in and visit some of the items in the list below. If you like what you see let a District
representative know what you like and what you have seen. The District staff is here to make the
convention more FUN. Hope everyone has a great time and a wonderful experience.
McClendon House ---------------------------------------------------------------------------4
Tyler Rose Garden---------------------------------------------------------------------------5
Liberty Hall Theater-------------------------------------------------------------------------6
Goodman - LeGrand House ----------------------------------------------------------------7
Dewberry Plantation-------------------------------------------------------------------------8
American Freedom Museum ---------------------------------------------------------------9
Tyler Best Kept Secret - Stanley's BBQ------------------------------------------------ 10
Civil War Prison Camp (Camp Ford Tyler) ------------------------------------------- 10
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McClendon House
The Bonner-Whitaker-McClendon
House, built in 1878, received
designation as a Tyler Historic
Landmark in 1984. Also recorded as a
Texas Historic Landmark the house is
listed in the National Register of
Historic Places. Of the 76 homes or
buildings listed in the Tyler Register of
Historic Places, only two are available
for tours: The Goodman-Le-Grand
Home which is owned and operated
as the Goodman Museum by the city
of Tyler and the McClendon House
which is self financed and self
sustaining.
Judge M. H. Bonner, a Texas State
Supreme Court Associate Justice,
bought a parcel of land from the estate
of his former law partner, Texas’ first
governor, J. Pinckney Henderson.
When Judge Bonner’s oldest
daughter, Mattie married attorney
Harrison Whitaker, the newlyweds
were gifted two acres on which they
built their home in 1878. The
Whitakers shopped in New York for
fireplace mantles, light fixtures,
wallpaper and much of their furniture.
They selected an East Lake Bracketed
architectural design for construction of
their two-story nine room home. The
house became a central point for Tyler
society as the Whitakers presided
over dinners and parties, all celebrated in grand Victorian style. Sadly, Mattie suffered an untimely death
and five years later the house was sold to Mattie’s younger sister, Annie and her husband, Sidney
McClendon. The McClendon’s had nine children, the youngest of which, Sarah, embodied the values of
her parents and grandparents as she became a noted Washington, D. C. news journalist whose career
spanned the terms of 12 presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to George W. Bush. The McClendon House
is open for tours, and available for other events. Drop by to tour the McClendon House any Friday or
Saturday from 10:00 to 4:00. $7 per person FREE for children 12 and under!
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Tyler Rose Garden
The Rose Garden is open
from dawn until dark, seven
days a week. Admission is
free. It is located across the
street from the Harvey
Convention Center. I am
sure it will be a favorite
place to spend a couple of
quiet minutes while
attending the Texas District
Convention.
The Rose Garden Center
serves at the gateway to the
Tyler Municipal Rose Garden. The Rose Garden Center is open to the public Monday through Friday,
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, from 9 am to 5 pm., and Sunday, from 1 to 5 pm.
The history of the Texas Rose Festival and rose industry are chronicled in the Tyler Rose Museum.
Interactive exhibits draw you in and make you part of the excitement. Hear the marching band as the
floats pass by in the Parade Room. Listen to the recorded voices of former Rose Queens describe their
"royal" experience. Beautiful hand-sewn gowns dating from 1935 share display space with bejeweled
crowns and scepters.
The "Attic of Memories", a favorite of many museum visitors, feature antiques an poignant memorabilia
donated from the private collections of local residents. In the tradition of the best Smithsonian displays,
"The Attic" gives visitors a realistic glimpse of life in Smith County throughout the past hundred years.
Steamer trunks and faded hat boxes display dated treasures, while audio tapes describe how these
items relate to unforgettable Rose Festival moments.
Take time to visit the Museum's gift shop, where you'll find lots of memento that will help you part with
you money. For additional information about the museum and gift shop, please call 903-597-3130 or go
to: www.texasrosefestival.com.
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Liberty Hall Theater
Liberty Hall is a project of The City of Tyler and
was conceived by the City of Tyler and the East
Texas Symphony Organization in an effort to
promote tourism and business for downtown
Tyler and the surrounding area. Liberty Hall is
only 1.8 miles from the Convention Center
The facility itself is a result of the artful renovation
of Jason Jennings of The Butler Architectural
Group. The renovation was accomplished with
the efforts of Mayor Barbara Bass and the ETSO,
WSL, Genecov Group, Brandon Steele and
Wisenbaker Fix as well as other private
donations.
Celebrating its Grand Opening in September of
2011, the theater is now and will continue
presenting an array of quality entertainment,
ranging from nationally known artists to regional
and local entertainers from all genres of music,
comedy, theater as well as classic movies.
Donations from private Patron Donors, Sustaining
Patron Donor memberships and revenues from
the shows that are being presented support the
theater.
Tickets to all Liberty Hall events are sold online or
at the door 30 minutes prior to a show if not sold
out - we are a cash only facility. Minimal
concessions are available, again for cash only.
Parking on the square is plentiful for our patrons.
Please make plans to come early to the square
for dinner or to stay late for drinks and dessert
after the shows. There are many excellent
restaurants downtown at which to eat and drink.
There is also often live music.
For additional information please contact our
Convention and Visitors Bureau and they will be
happy to assist. 1-800-235-5712.
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Goodman - LeGrand House
the Goodman - LeGrand Home is
located 2 miles from the Harvey
Convention Center
The Goodman home was originally
built in 1859 as a one-story, fourroom house, and it was established
on a 9-acre wooded parcel of land.
It was known as Bonnie Castle by
its first owner and occupant,
Samuel Gallatin Smith. The young
well-to-do bachelor and attorney
sold the house in 1861 when the
Civil War broke out. The next owner
who bought the home in 1861 was
Franklin N. Gary, a local school
teacher. In 1866, a year after the
Civil War ended, Dr. Samuel Adams
Goodman, a retired country doctor
from South Carolina, purchased the
house from Mr. Gary. The following
year in 1867, his son, Dr. William
Jeffries Goodman, a local doctor
and Civil War Major and Chief
Surgeon, bought the house from his
father and moved in with his new
bride, Mary Priscilla Gaston. Her
brother was William Henry Gaston,
a founder of the city of Dallas, and
one of Dallas' first millionaires. For
73 years and four generations, this
prominent family made the house
their family home. The house is
open or tours Tuesday thought
Saturday 10 am to 4 pm. Location is
624 N Broadway, just north of
downtown Tyler.
Museum Hours of Operation:
Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.
- 4 p.m.
Closed on Sunday and Monday
LeGrand Park & Gardens Hours of Operation:
Open Daily 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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Dewberry Plantation
The Dewberry Plantation is located 25 minutes to the
south of Tyler. Tours are available through the week
for $8 For additional information call the Dewberry
Plantation at 903-825-9000
Dewberry Plantation tours are designed to provide
viewers with a complete analysis of the architectural
styles used in the construction of the 1854 mansion as
well as a comprehensive history of Colonel John
Dewberry (1794-1877) and his impact on the
settlement of East Texas. Accounts have the original
plantation encompassing between 20,000 and 30,000
acres in Smith, Cherokee and Anderson Counties with
the main house, named "Myrtle-Vale" by its builder
because of the long walkway flanked by majestic
crepe myrtles leading to the house, serving as
headquarters. Myrtle-Vale is the only original twostory, pre-Civil War house still standing in Smith
County.
Visitors will hear a detailed account of the impact of
historical sites such as the Neches Saline, a saline used
by Indians and settlers until it was covered by the waters
of Lake Palestine, Saline Prairie, and the Neches, Sabine
and Trinity Rivers. Guests will also be informed on the
importance of the site as a campground for the officers of
the Army of Republic of Texas, led by Thomas J. Rusk and
Edward Burleson, prior to their final battle with the
Cherokee Indians and Chief Bowles. The tour will
conclude with a full account of the history of Colonel
Dewberry and his family, who came to the area in 1835
from Chatham County, Georgia. Before arriving in Texas
he served as a Colonel in the War of 1812. This part of the
tour will include excerpts from interviews with former
slaves and their living descendants.
Myrtle-Vale has been meticulously restored in 2001
according to the Department of the Interiors "Standards for
Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic
Buildings." All areas of the house which could be restored were done so using the original materials. In
the few areas where water damage and rotting had occurred, cypress lumber was hand milled and
delivered from Louisiana to match the original exterior. The house is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places as well as being a Texas State Historical Landmark, and it is the sincere desire of the
present owners to provide Americans today with a glimpse into the life and times of Antebellum East
Texas.
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American Freedom Museum
The Museum is located in Bullard TX less than 15 miles
south of downtown Tyler on Hwy 69. Admission is:
Veterans Free - Active Military Free - Adults $6
Come explore the Museum's 15,000 square feet of galleries
containing an amazing collection of artifacts and documents
from the breadth of our nation’s history. Be transported back
in time as you journey from the battlefields of the American
Revolution all the way to the sands of Iraq.
You’ll see a musket used by an American minuteman at the
Battle of Lexington, a cannon used by General Andrew
Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, the sword carried by
Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, the bloody
uniform of a Spanish-American War bugler, World War I
soldiers in their trench on the Western Front, a 1943 Willys
jeep, a glider cockpit, a C-47 paratrooper plane that you can
actually board, the Nazi flag captured by American troops
who liberated Dachau, a fully outfitted Vietnam-era Huey
helicopter, and much, much more. Learn about each event
from informative panels, maps, artifacts, videos, and
photographs throughout the exhibits.
A special gallery in the Museum features a document signed
by every President of the United States. Items of particular
interest include a lock of George Washington’s hair, an
original poem written by John Quincy Adams, a Senate tally
sheet from Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial, a letter
from Theodore Roosevelt offering to revive the Rough
Riders for service in World War I, and a letter of resignation
signed by Richard Nixon. Beginning with Theodore
Roosevelt, one can hear an audio clip of a selected
President.
The Museum organizes and sponsors a variety of lectures
and other special events and programs, inviting the public to
join us in the exploration of our rich heritage.
If you are looking to experience the past and gain an
appreciation for our heritage and the Veterans who made
our freedoms possible, you’ll find the Museum is truly the
place to visit.
The Museum is owned and operated by The Brook Hill
School, a registered 501(c)(3) organization. All financial
contributions made to the Museum are tax-deductible
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Tyler Best Kept Secret - Stanley's BBQ
If you ever undertake the quest searching for
the best rib around , you’ll find that Stanley’s
famous pit BBQ in Tyler. TX is a major
contender. Stanley's is the oldest operating
Mom & Pop BBQ Joint in Tyler, Texas. Serving
up true, pit smoked BBQ for over 50 years.
Stanley himself has been off of the scene for
more than a decade, but with a new owner and
pit master, who took over the nearly 60 yearold-joint in 2000, has revived the quality of its barbecue--all the usual suspects plus ham and
turkey--and spruced up the atmosphere: It's now a cross between a fifties diner and a rustic
hunting lodge. They also tinkered with the tangy house sauce, but the thick slices of lean
brisket (smoked for 16+ hours) and juicy pork-and-beef sausage taste better left alone. If you
visit at lunch, consider a sandwich called the Brother-in-Law: hotlink, chopped beef, and cheese.
Yes, cheese. You'll wonder why it hasn't been a barbecue staple forever.
Located at 525 S Beckham Ave, 903-593-0311 less than two miles from the convention center.
Open for Breakfast 7 to 10 and dinner from 11am to 9pm.
Civil War Prison Camp (Camp Ford Tyler)
Camp Ford was the largest
Confederate Prisoner of War Camp
west of the Mississippi River during the
American Civil War. Established in
August of 1863, the camp was not
closed until May 19, 1865. At its peak in
July 1864, over 5,300 prisoners were
detained there.
The site of the Camp stockade is now a
public park, owned by Smith County,
Texas, and managed by the Smith
County Historical Society.
The park features a kiosk with
extensive graphics detailing the history
of the camp, a walking trail with more interpretive signage, a picnic area, and a reconstruction of
the cabin of Lt. Col J.B. Leake.
The Camp Ford Historic Park is located on US Highway 271, 0.8 miles outside Loop 323 in
Tyler, Texas. It is open daily, dawn to dusk, and admission is free